YouTube announced on Friday that it would restore former President Donald Trump’s channel, more than two years after suspending it following the January 6 attack on the US Capitol. This decision follows similar actions taken by Twitter and Facebook-parent Meta in recent months. Although Trump has yet to resume posting on those platforms, he announced last fall that he would run for president again in 2024.
“YouTube carefully evaluated the continued risk of real-world violence, while balancing the chance for voters to hear equally from major national candidates in the run up to an election,” the company said in a tweet on Friday.
Axios first reported the channel restoration, and a representative for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNN. YouTube initially suspended Trump’s channel after the Capitol riot, citing a violation of its policy against inciting violence. Since then, Trump’s account had been blocked from uploading new videos or livestreams.
Comments underneath videos on Trump’s channel, which were previously disabled, appear to have been restored on Friday. Users began posting “welcome back” comments under old videos immediately after the account was restored.
With more than 2.6 million subscribers, the reactivation of Trump’s YouTube channel will restore his access to the massive video streaming platform. As more platforms restore Trump’s account, some stress that he continues to face restrictions on what he can post and could be suspended again.
YouTube stated that Trump’s “channel will continue to be subject to our policies, just like any other channel on YouTube.” The platform operates a strike policy under which users can receive escalating suspensions based on the number and severity of their violations.
Meta, for instance, said last month that it had implemented new guardrails on Trump’s account that could result in it being suspended again if he breaks the company’s rules.
For now, the former president has continued posting only on his own platform, Truth Social, which launched after he was suspended from more mainstream options. On Friday morning, Trump posted a series of six videos on Truth Social, including multiple that repeated false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.
